


Once Upon Babylon 5

by ChandaK562



Category: Babylon 5
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-31
Updated: 2013-07-22
Packaged: 2017-11-23 02:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/617296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChandaK562/pseuds/ChandaK562
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I got this idea while working on another story that death might be kinder for Talia than being turned over to Psi-Corps once the alternate personality takes over.  Could one of her friends bring themselves to end things for her, how and what might happen afterwards?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I got this idea when I was working on my other story, and had Garibaldi and Susan thinking death would kinder for Talia than turning her over to Psi-Corps. I had to try to write out the idea of what if they had decided to kill Talia instead of just throwing her off the station and to the Corps "mercy." This is the result.

I couldn't believe he was doing this, but what other choice had the Corps left him? Thanks to them Talia was dead, but her body was still roaming around about to end up as Bester and company's plaything unless they did something to stop it. And as much as he had hoped to find some other solution, this was the only one he could think of. Garibaldi slowly moved through Down Below, looking for one of the lurkers he had heard rumors about. Nothing had ever been proven against anyone, but the story in the wind was that there was something available, completely undetectable, a poison that could kill painlessly within heartbeats. A quick, painless death. That was the least that they could do for Talia now.

Suddenly there was a noise behind him and Garibaldi spun to find a man standing there. "Looking for something for a fair lady are we?" He asked in a funny, high pitched rhyming sort of voice.

"Maybe." Garibaldi said cautiously.

"The lady was perhaps hurt by a Mister Bester, then?"

How did he know about Bester? But before he knew it, for some reason he didn't understand, he replied. "Bester destroyed her. I want her to be at peace. Do you have something that can give her that? Final peace?"

"I have exactly what you need." The odd looking man said with a smile. He waved for Michael to follow him down a corridor. A moment later he stopped at a doorway that Garibaldi couldn't remember seeing there before and opened it, pulling out a bag and extracting a gleaming red apple with a flourish. "Here. Exactly what you need for your lady."

"An apple? No offense, but I'm not trying to keep a doctor away here. I'm not sure an apple is going to cut it, Mister…."

"You can call me Gold, and this is no ordinary apple, oh, no. This is exactly what you want if you wish for peace for your lady. One bite, and I promise that her troubles will be over."

"One bite?" That did sound like what he was looking for. "Pain?"

"Just like a baby falling asleep. She won't feel a thing. Interested?"

"How much?" Garibaldi asked before he could have time to think and second guess himself. Talia would be off the station and back in Corps control soon. If he was going to do something he had to move fast.

"Normally these things come with a price, but it so happens that I've met this Mister Bester who harmed your lady. He will be very displeased indeed if your lady finds her peace. Very, very displeased. Take it. It's free."

The next thing Garibaldi knew, he was in his quarters, not remembered quite how he got there, apple in his hand.

He dropped down into a chair and stared at the apple, half in horror and half in hope. Could he actually do it? Kill Talia? But it wouldn't be killing her, would it? Bester had already made sure that their Talia was dead. If anything he would be killing a Psi-Corps created monster. How in the world could they do something like that, and Talia wasn't likely the first. How could they do that and keep getting away with it? He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, fixing his look on the apple. One bite, no pain. How could he not do that for Talia? The alternative was to send her back to an organization that had terrified her, where they would do things that he didn't want to think about to her. If Talia had ever imagined something like this happening, he was sure that she would want someone to show her kindness and end things before that could happen.

He would do it somehow for her. He debated for a moment calling Susan but then decided against it. If the poison wasn't as undetectable as Mister Gold was claiming or it didn't work the way he said, he wasn't willing to bring anyone else down with him.

How to get Talia to take a bite. That was going to be the tricky part, the part he was going to almost have to leave up to chance. He couldn't force the thing down her throat. Not only would it leave marks, but it would completely negate the no-pain aspect of the poison that he was going for. But would leaving the matter to chance really be so bad? If he tried to poison Talia and she didn't take the bait then maybe…. No, he wasn't even going to let himself think there was a chance this could end well. He would find something else if the poison didn't work. And the apple did look tempting, tempting enough that he almost couldn't look away from it. Earth fruit, especially something that looked like this was rare out here. It would surely do the trick. He headed for the door, apple in hand. He would have to make a few adjustments to the security monitors and then he could slip the apple into Talia's quarters while she was sleeping.

It didn't take nearly as long as he thought it would. Alone in his office he watched the monitor showing Talia's quarters, installed to keep an eye on her until they could get her off the station. She hadn't stirred when he had entered, and as he watched, she picked up the apple, a blank look in her eyes. He wanted to turn away, but he couldn't. He had to see this through to the end. Something was seriously wrong with the control personality. She didn't seem in the least suspicious, was moving like a robot as she brought the apple to her lips. Was the personality breaking down, and where would that leave Talia if it did? Effectively a vegetable? That made what he had done easier to take. She bit into the apple, and for a second there was a light in her eyes, an expression so like the real Talia that he almost jumped up in alarm. But before he could move, she swayed on her feet, and crumpled to the ground, apple falling out of her hand and rolling across the floor.

Nothing, no movement, no breathing. It had happened faster than he expected. "Good-bye, Talia. Rest in peace."


	2. Chapter 2

Susan had never seen the expression that Garibaldi had on his face before when she walked into security to find him watching a monitor.

"Michael?" She called his name as she moved around him to see what he was observing. Her eyes went wide as she caught sight of Talia's crumpled body, and she knew automatically what had happened. "How long?"

"Almost an hour. I've just been trying to get up the nerve to go down there and find her." And at first, even though he knew that it was wrong, that death was a mercy for Talia, he had hoped that he would see her twitch, would see that he hadn't actually killed her.

"She would have thanked you if she had been able to. You know she would have." Susan told him. "How?"

"Something I found Down Below. Poison. It was quick. She never knew what hit her. Didn't feel a thing."

"Good. Good. Want me to go with you? It might be better if two of us find her. How did you get her to take it, anyway?"

"It was in an apple, believe it or not. And yes, I am aware that it probably wasn't the best idea. I'm not sure how it even ended up working. Talia, our Talia, was too smart to just eat some strange fruit on her table, but this one, I think maybe the Control personality was breaking down because she picked it up and…."

"She would have been a vegetable if that happened, and you know what Bester would have done to her. It's better, this way. It's what she would have chose if she could have." Susan said, hoping to convince Michael and herself. "Someone was selling poisoned apples? Isn't that…. You didn't get that apple from wicked queen looking for someone named Snow White, right?"

"She looks more like Sleeping Beauty than Snow White. It was someone named Gold. I'll have to take another look to make sure he doesn't sell those things to anyone else but…." Garibaldi pulled himself to his feet and took a deep breath to steady himself before heading for the door. He had done the right thing, but that didn't mean he was looking forward to seeing Talia's dead body.

******

"She's smiling." was the first thing that Susan noticed when Garibaldi opened the door to Talia's quarters. The telepath was lying on the floor where she had fallen, the apple a few feet away with one bite out of it, her head turned to the side, a soft smile on her still face.

"You know, for a second, right before she collapsed, there was this look. I almost thought the old Talia was there. Almost came running down, thinking Lyta had made a mistake but it was too late."

"Maybe she was, at least a little of her. Maybe she knew what you did and knew it was the only way out for her. Maybe she was glad that someone was there to give her that at the end." Susan knelt on the floor by Talia and reached out to brush her hair back. She was already so cold. She closed her eyes for a moment, murmuring a soft prayer before whispering. "Goodbye, Talia. They can't hurt you now. No one can hurt you now. You're free."

"You're free." Michael echoed her as he gently touched Talia's cheek. Death, the only real freedom for a telepath. He hadn't thought about it before, but now if just didn't seem right.

"When you get rid of that apple, get rid of these too." Susan pulled Talia's Psi-Corps pin off, and then the gloves as well, even though the beginning of stiffness in her fingers made it difficult. "The Corps killed her. She's not being buried with anything of theirs."

"Might need to save the rest of the apple for Bester. You know he's going to show up when he hears she's dead. Do you think he might like a pie, or a tart?"

"I think poison's too quick for him." Susan pulled herself to her feet as Garibaldi gathered up the apple, and went to the com panel. "John?" She said as soon as Sheridan appeared. "I'm down in Miss Winters' room with Mister Garibaldi. We have a problem. She's dead."

*******

"Stephen, what happened? She was fine when we brought her down here." John Sheridan asked the doctor when he looked up from examining Talia's body thirty minutes later. Talia had been basically insane when she was taken away but certainly not on the brink of death. How had she ended up dead right before she could be shipped off to Psi-Corps? He had his suspicions, and he just hoped that if he was right that Susan or Michael, which ever one of them who had actually done it, had covered their tracks.

"No signs of trauma. It doesn't seem like anything's broken. No discoloration that would hint at poison. I'm not sure." Stephen said as he stood up. "Maybe it was something with the alternate personality, Maybe when it took over it did too much damage to her mind. I'll know more when I do the autopsy."

"No autopsy. Tissue samples. An autopsy would leave tissue samples that Bester would love to get his hands on." Susan said.

"It was probably something with what Bester and company did." Michael added. "An aneurysm, maybe? She's been through enough." That was the only reason he was arguing against an autopsy. If he got found out, it didn't matter, but Talia had been through more than enough. She had had her brain tore apart, she didn't need her body cut open too. "If the tox screen's clear, why not mark it off as an aneurysm?"

"If the tox screen's clear." And Stephen dearly hoped that it was, because he had a feeling that Talia's death was nowhere near natural. "I'll put a rush on it, and see what I can come up with."

"Good. I'm going to talk to Delenn." Susan said, turning away as Talia was closed up in a body bag. "Maybe she can help plan some sort of funeral before Bester shows up."

"They say the murderer always returned to the scene of the crime." Michael grumbled. Well, it had proven true for him, it would probably prove true for Bester too. Just thinking about Bester and the Psi-Corps…. With a shake of his head, he turned and headed towards the door, following the stretcher that was taking Talia away. "If you need me, I'm going to see about finding something for her to wear that doesn't scream Psi-Corps."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey." Susan called as she stepped into Garibaldi's rooms to find him sitting there, drink of amber liquor in front of him. "You know, normally I would tell you you shouldn't drink that, but right now, I think I'll yell at you for not offering to let me join you."

"I haven't touched it." Talia was dead, and finally after a four day delay while Stephen ran all of the tests that he could without actually doing an autopsy, they were going to be able to have her funeral. When he had picked up the bottle down at the Zocalo, all he had wanted to do was to crawl inside it and never come out, wanted to never have to face seeing Talia in that coffin, still and cold, gone because of what he had done. Sure, he knew that Psi-Corps were the ones who had set the whole thing in motion but he had been the one who had stepped in and had ended things. That bottle and not remembering seeing Talia's collapse was so tempting, but…. "Weirdest thing. Someone left a pile of books down at security with my name on them. Zack dropped them off. Take a look."

"The Sun, The Moon and Talia?" Susan read the title as she took the very obviously old book from Garibaldi. "Talia?"

"Sleeping Beauty. It's an Italian version of Sleeping Beauty." he said as he sorted through the books. "Then we've got the actual Sleeping Beauty, some Irish or Scottish version, The Life and Times of Snow White, The Glass Coffin, yet another twist on Sleeping Beauty, Little Snowdrop. I think I've got every variation of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty that's out there. Oh, and Rumplestiltskin. That one must have been a mix-up."

"Someone gave you a bunch of fairy tales? Wait." Susan said as an idea hit her. "Do you think someone knows what happened? That you gave that apple to Talia, which, by the way, seems like a crazier idea every time I think about it?"

"I don't see how. The only ones who know are you and me, and that Mister Gold, who seems to have vanished into thin air. I went all over Downbelow and there's no sign of him. He must have got off the station somehow."

"You're sure he's gone?"

"As sure as I can be without alerting someone and starting a manhunt for him. I couldn't even find the place where I ran into him down there." Michael shook his head. The entire thing was confusing, and he wasn't entirely sure he was remembering some things correctly, but with what had happened, he wasn't surprised his mind was shot.

"But if he's gone, and I know I didn't drop off those things…. Did the monitors pick up anything?"

"Not a thing. They're running a diagnostic on them now. There might be some sort of bug in the system but…." As he talked Michael flicked through one of the books, to the illustration of Snow White in her coffin. He closed his eyes after a second. Way too much like Talia, down to the coffin of crystal.

"So, what do you think?" Could someone else know what happened? Susan wasn't sure how. All of Stephen's tests hadn't shown a thing. How could someone have found out what had really happened? "Did anyone notice you in Downbelow?"

"No one was close enough to hear what we were talking about. The most they could have seen was Gold giving me an apple. No law against someone giving out free fruit." If someone did know, they could figure it out later. With a sigh he pulled himself to his feet. As much as he didn't want to see Talia in that coffin, it was time.

*******

There were roses, soft yellow and white roses, everywhere. Between him and Susan, the station's stock must have been cleared out. Talia was in a buttery yellow dress, the same basic cut of her usual outfits, but made of a soft silk like material that had cost him a fortune. The slight smile was still on her lips as they approached the coffin.

"Peace. She's at peace." It was a trite expression, Susan knew, but one that she kept repeating, that she knew had more than a bit of truth in this case. She reached out and took Talia's ice cold, stiff hand, and slipped her lucky penny into her grasp. "Goodbye, Talia. You were a good friend. Probably better than I deserved after how I treated you. You won't be forgotten, I promise."

"I'm so sorry." Garibaldi whispered as he leaned over the coffin. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. You deserved so much better than this." Even though he swore he wouldn't, a tear dropped down onto her marble white cheek, and he had to brush it away. "They can't hurt you now, but I just wish I could have done something before they hurt you at all." He slipped a rose, the only red one in the room, between the stiff fingers of her other hand. "There's a Mimbari saying about a place where no shadows fall. I hope if that's real, you're there now. Talia…." He couldn't say the rest, just gently brushed her cheek with his fingers as he finished the thought in his mind before going to join Susan.

*******

The funeral, with Delenn and any human religious officials she could rope into assisting in charge for an interesting blend of rituals, was halfway through when Susan felt a cold feeling prickling at the back of her neck. "Tell me that who I think isn't here." she hissed to Michael.

"Who else?" he said after risking a glance back. "I'm going to have to have a word with Zack when this is over. I told him to arrest Bester if he showed up. I'm pretty sure I can get breathing to stick as a crime."

"He won't be breathing long enough for it to matter." Susan muttered as she pulled herself up. The Mimbari telepaths Delenn had brought in in case of Bester's presence were helping, but she could feel the hostility aimed at them and at the body in the coffin.

********

"Who is responsible for this…. farce of a funeral?" Bester demanded as soon as the ceremony was over. "Psi Corps has regulations concerning these things, and you have managed to violate every one of them." The Mimbari telepaths were clustered around the command staff, supposedly waiting to offer their condolences to Commander Ivanova and Mister Garibaldi, who had gotten themselves elected head mourners, but he knew perfectly well that their main purpose was to block him.

"That would have been Ambassador Delenn." Susan told him with a smile. They had wanted to plan the funeral themselves, but Delenn had suggested leaving the details to her instead, in case Bester tried something like this. "And I'm sure that she would love to hear your opinion." Maybe the Mimbari would declare war on Psi-Corps this time and free all of the telepaths. Too late for Talia, but it would be a fitting tribute to her.

"I want to know what happened to Miss Winters. Doctor?" He turned his glare on Stephen. "How did a Psi Corps member end up dead on your station?"

"Aneurysm." Stephen said. Some of the delay in the funeral had actually been so he could find the literature to back up the report and death certificate. "You can check the literature if you don't believe me. It's happened before when death of personality's been imposed. Just last year there was a case on Mars Colony."

"Brain hemorrhages, but there has never been a death as a result."

"Not until now. Either whoever put that thing in Miss Winters' head was exceptionally careless and caused the damage, or she was born with with a weakness in a blood vessel. The result was the same no matter what. The stress from the activation was too much. There was light bleeding for a short time, the inter-cranial pressure went up and eventually the blood vessel gave entirely and she was gone. You'll have my report and the death certificate shortly. It's listed as natural causes, although if I had my way, it would be down as murder with Psi-Corps as her killers. You people claim to be mother and father. I have never seen such abusive parents in my life!" With a angry look, Stephen stormed away, not wanting to be anywhere near Bester.

"Believe me, the Corps will be looking into this incident closely. We don't take the loss of one of our own lying down." With that Bester turned and stormed towards the front of the room, to stand in front of the coffin and glare down at the body.

"Don't take the loss of their own lying down. They killed her. They might as well have shot her the second they put that thing in her. It would have been more merciful." Susan muttered.

"Zack, could I ask you why Mister Bester isn't in a holding cell?" Michael asked as the other security officer came up. "He seems to be breathing. I believe I said he was to be arrested for that."

"Yeah, he got past us." Zack said with a wince. 'Got two guards down in the Medlab I need Doctor Franklin to take a look at. He did something to knock them out and….."

Before Zack could explain further, there was a shout at the front of the room by the coffin. "Mister Bester, what is the meaning of this?" Delenn fixed the psi-cop with a glare that would have made most people drop dead as Lennier and another Mimbari grabbed him and drug him away from the coffin. "This is a funeral! Miss Winters is dead thanks to your organization! And now you come here and desecrate her body?!"

"He did what?" Michael was at the coffin with Susan right behind him in an instant, both of their eyes going wide at the sight of the knife that had been plunged into Talia's shoulder. Without thinking, he pulled the knife free and advanced on Bester. "You stabbed her?"

"He thinks we faked this entire thing." Susan said. "He's lost what little mind he had." She motioned for the two Mimbari to drag him over to the coffin. "Look closely, Mister Bester. No bleeding. Talia's dead! She's dead, and as much as it hurts, I'm glad of it. Psi-Corps killed our friend when that thing in her head came out. After that, all that was left was a monster walking around with her face. I'm glad that she's gone before she could destroy the memory of everything Talia was."

"Delenn, can we borrow a few telepaths, long enough to get him down to a holding cell and make sure he gets locked up?" Michael asked. Stabbing a body in front of a room full of witnesses, he could hold Bester on that for awhile, although he didn't have any illusions orders to release him wouldn't come through within the hour.

"He's going to demand her body be turned over as soon as he gets out." John said as soon as Bester was gone.

"He can demand all he likes. She'll be cremated before then." Michael said with a grim smile. "I've already got all of the paperwork signed."

"Paperwork?" That was the one thing that was going to be tricky, Sheridan knew. They couldn't allow Psi-Corps to take Talia's body, but how they were going to get around it without violating some serious rules, he wasn't sure. "Psi-Corps…."

"Psi-Corps pulls that stupid "the Corps is mother, the Corps is father" thing to claim they're next of kin and to get their hands on the bodies of any dead telepath they want. Well, surprise, it turns out that Talia has an actual mother. She wants her cremated and her ashes returned to Earth so she can bury her next to her father. She signed the paperwork giving Commander Ivanova and I authority to handle the arrangements for her. Bester can pitch a fit all he likes, but there's nothing he can do."


	4. Chapter 4

"Talia has a mother?" Susan said as they followed the coffin down the hallway. The Mimbari generally sent their dead home for cremation, but Delenn had made the arrangements for Talia to be handled there.

"Most people do have them." The Mimbari moving the coffin entered the room where the cremation equipment had been set up, and moved the coffin into place before exiting, leaving Michael and Susan to say their final goodbyes in private.

"I know that, but…. How did you find her?"

"It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be especially when I found out the Corps changed her last name when they took her." He took the lid off the coffin so he could see Talia properly one last time. "Over twenty years and her mother had never given up seeing her again. She always hoped that Talia would come home again some day."

"She would have. You know she was finally seeing the Corps for what it really was. If this hadn't happened, she would have wanted to know. She would have wanted to go home. You told her mother what happened?" Susan asked as the tears she had held back started to flow partially at the thought of another mother and daughter being torn apart courtesy of the Psi-Corps and partially at the damage she knew having to make that call had done to her friend. She wished she had known Garibaldi was going to try tracking down Talia's family. She could have at least been there to offer moral support.

"As much as I could. Apparently she's part of some group, for family who had kids taken by the Corps. When I told her, you know what she said? That at least she knew, that she was the only one who knew what happened to their kid. The Corps doesn't even bother to notify normal families if there's a death. She loved her, Susan. She loved her, and she isn't even going to get to see Talia and say goodbye thanks to them."

"We'll have to say goodbye for her, then." Susan said as she reached into the coffin and took Talia's hand. "Talia, I have to believe that there's some part of you out there that can hear this, and I want you to know how much you were loved. You had a family who loved you and would have given anything for you to come home, and you have friends who love you and would have given anything for this to have been different. You were loved, and you'll be missed forever. Goodbye, Talia."

"Talia…" He didn't know what he could say. Talia was dead because of him. He had done the right thing, he knew, she wouldn't have wanted to live as a Corps puppet, but still, she was dead because of what he had done. How was he supposed to live with that? Michael leaned over the coffin as Susan backed away, tears streaming down her cheeks just as they were starting to fall down his. "Talia…" He slipped a pink ribbon between her fingers, wrapping it around the stem of the rose. "Your mother said that the day the Corps took you away, that you had a pink ribbon in your hair. Every year on your birthday, she's tied ribbons like that on the door and prayed for you to come home. She loved you so much. No matter what the Corps might have told you, she was never afraid of you or what you could do. She loved you and wanted you more than anything. I promise that we'll get you home to her, even if it isn't the homecoming it should be. I'm so sorry. Talia…. I love you." And then his lips were on hers, kissing her softly, a touch that would surely have let her read his mind, would have shown her how sincere his words were if she had been capable of anything. He closed his eyes to try to block the tears, wanting to freeze this moment forever in his mind.

There was a light, or what he thought was a light, flashing against his eyelids, and then just as he blinked his eyes open and moved slightly back, there was a gasp.

"Mister Garibaldi?" 

It couldn't be, but he made himself look down again and there were two pale, eyes, wide with confusion, staring up at him. "Talia?" Had he lost his mind? Dead, she was dead. Bester had stabbed her and there hadn't been any blood. She was dead! "Susan!"

"What am I doing in a coffin?" Her head was swimming, and all she wanted to do was drift back to sleep, but Talia couldn't help but notice where she was currently resting. A coffin?

"What in…." Susan stopped, at a loss for words when she saw Talia, her eyes open. Her jaw dropped and she stared in shock for a moment before getting hold of herself and rushing over. "Talia?"

"Michael? Susan?" Talia whispered. "Why am I in a coffin?" And why did both of them look like they had been crying? Talia wanted to ask that, but she was so tired, although she wasn't sure why.

"No, don't close your eyes. You just stay awake for us." Garibaldi reached over and patted her cheek to try to get her attention as her eyelids started to flutter closed. She was practically a block of ice and her shoulder… "Susan?"

"No blankets. This might help a little. At least to get her out of there." Susan said as she jumped up and drug a tarp off some of the machinery that had been crowded in the room. "Talia? Hey, we're going to get you taken care of. You just stay awake, okay? Don't go to sleep."

"A coffin? Is this prank a telepath day?" Talia murmured as she felt herself being lifted and laid on the ground.

"More like prank the entire station, but the telepath who slept though everything and missed it. You're going to be fine." Susan and Michael shared a look as they got one edge of the tarp wrapped around Talia's damaged shoulder and then tugged the rest around her to try to at least keep her from getting any colder. What in the world were they going to do? Four days, Talia had been in cold storage in the medlab for four days. She was ice cold, and then there was the damage to her shoulder. There was blood, although the cold was slowing it slightly, already starting to soak through the makeshift dressing.

"My quarters. It's closer." Michael said after a moment's thought. "But if we run into anyone in the halls…."

"I'll take care of that. You just take care of her. Talia, you have no idea how glad the two of us are to see you. You just relax and we're going to get you fixed up in just a minute, alright?" Panic washed over her as Garibaldi lifted Talia up. She was so cold, and the potential for serious damage from the stab wound…. No, don't think, stay calm and for goodness sakes don't think or Talia would hear it and would panic too. "Give me a minute to get anyone out of the way before you come out." She ordered Garibaldi before easing out into the corridor.

***********

"Well, I think Corwin is going to need therapy, and possibly a new pair of pants." Somehow, thanks to the Fear of Ivanova, they had managed to make it to his quarters without being spotted, although he wasn't sure what people would think if they did spot them. Talia was still deathly pale and seemed too cold to move at all. They would probably be mistaken for bodysnatchers or necrophiliacs. 

"I think Corwin needs therapy most of the time." Susan grumbled as Michael carried Talia into his bedroom and laid her on the bed. Her eyes were closed, but they flickered open when she patted her cheek. "Do you have a robe or something and towels? We need to get that shoulder fixed before we can try to get her warm."

"Robe. Towels. Hot packs, right?" Michael asked as he hurried into the bathroom and gathered the requested items.

"Right. Talia? Stay awake, okay? Don't close your eyes." Susan called as the telepath started to drift off again. At least the dress Garibaldi picked was easy to get off. The wound in her shoulder, though, it was deep and Susan winced as she looked at it. Even with the cold slowing things, there was blood everywhere.

"Bester's dead." Michael said as he came in with the bottle of liquor and caught sight of the wound. "We arranged for the Mimbari to do a cremation. I would hate to disappoint them. We can have them do Bester instead. This was the only thing I could think of that might work as a disinfectant, but…" He had actually used alcohol for that before but he cringed at the thought of using it on Talia.

Susan cringed too, but what choice did they have? Pain or potential infection. As long as Bester was on the loose, they weren't going to be able to get Stephen to help them. "Talia, I'm sorry if this hurts." She said as she poured some of the alcohol onto a washcloth and pressed it against the wound.

"What? Why was I in a coffin?" Talia murmured as her eyes started to slip shut again. She didn't even notice the horrified looks that Susan and Michael exchanged when she didn't react to the alcohol soaked cloth was pressed to her injury.

"The cold. It's the cold." Michael murmured. "My aunt sent me a bunch of these things that are supposed to keep dishes warm. She must have thought I would be cooking twenty course meals or something. Those should work as hot packs, right?"

Susan nodded. "Get her warm, she'll be fine." But if it wasn't the cold… The knife had gone high, missing the lung, but what if it had damaged something else, nerves or worse? No, don't think. Don't think anything but that they were going to be able to fix this. "Just stay awake a little longer, okay?" She called to Talia as she finished cleaning the wound, and bandaged it as tightly as she could with the towels to try to control the bleeding. "You just stay awake, and we're going to have this fixed in a few minutes." She tugged the robe around her, and looked up as Michael came in, his arms full of hot packs wrapped in any cloths he could find.

They tucked the packs around Talia, against her neck and beneath her arms, and in any other places they could think of that might force some warmth into her, before swaddling her in blankets and settling in on either side of her, reaching under the cocoon of blankets to hold one of her hands in both of theirs and to wait.


	5. Chapter 5

"Talia?" Michael called her name and patted her cheek to get her to open her eyes again. How long had they been sitting there with her, trying to keep her awake and trying to get her warm? Long enough that they had changed the hot packs out once but as far as he could tell there hadn't been any change. He shared a worried look with Susan. Between the cold and the bloodloss, Talia was getting harder to rouse each time her eyes slipped shut. If something didn't change fast…. Bester was dead. Bester might as well get a shovel and get to work digging his own grave. If not for him, they could get Talia to Stephen, could get her real help. Even with the cold slowing the bleeding from her shoulder, he would bet anything that she had lost enough blood to need a transfusion. He closed his eyes as the memory of that knife, plunged into Talia's shoulder, washed over him. No, he shook his head, forcing that image away. Somehow they had got a miracle and got Talia back after four days of thinking she was dead, a funeral and coming closer than he really wanted to think about to having her cremated. After all of that, they weren't going to loose her to a little cold and bleeding. They just had to keep her awake a little longer. 

Talk. Talk about anything that might get her attention. "Hey, did I ever say anything about these two businessmen I busted for almost starting a riot last week? They had to be eighty if they were a day, and I'm talking human years, so you would think they would know better, but no, there they are in the middle of the Zocalo going after each other, and then when I go to break things up, half the place decides I'm picking on two senior citizens and go after me."

"Was that why you were walking funny at the senior staff meeting? Senior citizens and their defenders?" Susan actually laughed slightly as she recalled Garibaldi limping into that meeting. She gently squeezed Talia's hand. "Want to see the security footage a little later when you're feeling better?"

"The security footage suffered an unfortunate accident, thank you very much." Although now he was regretting that unfortunate accident. Anything that might help to keep Talia awake, they could use right now.

"Fighting. Pushing." Talia murmured. "Did I fall?" She couldn't move, couldn't feel anything, and in some dim part of her mind, she knew she ought to be terrified by that, but her mind felt as numb as her body All she wanted was to close her eyes and go to sleep if Michael and Susan would just let her.

"Fall?" Susan looked at her and then at Garibaldi in confusion. As cold as Talia was, she shouldn't be surprised that she was saying something that didn't make any sense, but it didn't make it any less alarming.

"Fall?" Garibaldi looked confused too before something clicked into place. "Those two started another fight in the meeting you had with them, didn't they?"

"Pushing. Too fast. Did I fall?" Her eyelids slipped shut as she talked, only for a touch to send them fluttering open again. "Numb. Broke something?" Paralyzed, what would Psi Corps do to her? If she was lucky she would be condemned to the sleepers. Sleepers or a life in a lab somewhere being turned into a brood mare. Panic touched her, but her mind was so numb that it faded within seconds. Sleep, if they would just let her sleep.

"No, you're fine. You're going to be fine." Garibaldi stroked her forehead with one hand even though she couldn't feel it. Talia thought she was…. It was a wonder she wasn't in hysterics.

"You got locked in a cold room for a little while. That's all. Nothing's broken." Susan added. "You didn't fall. Nothing's broken. You're just cold, and we're going to fix that in just a little bit, I promise. You're going to be fine." At least it seemed like Talia's abilities weren't working so well. That was a good thing. If she picked up what they were thinking, and knew how bad this was, how bad it could end up being…. Before she could think about it anymore, though, her link beeped.

She stood and hurried into the other room before activating the link.

"Where are you?" Sheridan said as soon as he heard her voice.

"Mister Garibaldi's."

"Good." The way those too had been acting, the way they felt towards Talia, he didn't want them wandering around the station right now. "Everything's taken care of with…."

"We've got Talia taken care of." At least taken care of as best they could without real medical attention. "Is Bester on the loose yet?"

"I just got the order to let him go. Stabbing Talia like that in front of Delenn and Lennier, I'm hoping I can do something diplomatically, and get him kicked off the station but until then…."

"I was wanting to set shiva for Talia. I think Mike's going to do it with me."

"Good. Good. That's absolutely fine." Sitting shiva. What had he heard about that? Seven, ten days? Surely he would have Bester gone by then, "The two of you do that, and stay out of sight. Let me handle the Bester situation." He ordered before ending the communication.

"Sheridan?" Garibaldi looked up as Ivanova came back in.

"I told him we were sitting shiva. That ought to buy us seven days anyway." Susan said as she sat back down and covered Talia's ice cold fingers with her own.

"That's fine. As long as you don't expect me to do anything else religious. I have parts I'm fond of, thank you very much." He looked down at Talia's pale face and then up at Susan again. "We need something else to get her warm." The heating packs were working, but as weak as Talia was from the blood loss, as cold as she was, it wasn't going to be fast enough.

"I know. I know." But the shower was out. Too hot too fast, at the least it would make her shoulder worse, at worst it could kill her. She closed her eyes for a moment. She was Russian. She had seen hypothermia before. There had to be something else they could try.

"We have one other thing. Us." He said, not looking up from Talia this time. Her eyes were barely open, and he wasn't sure if she could even hear them at the moment.

"Body heat?"

"Do you know anything about the telepathy, though? That's the only thing that's worrying me, that close of a contact…."

"As weak as she is, I don't think she could read us." And if it would save Talia's life….

"I'm not thinking about that. I'm thinking about her blocking us. It's like noise, isn't it? The two of us, that close, is it going to be like hitting her with a sonic boom?"

"I…." Susan thought for a moment, not sure of what to say. "I don't know." She had spent so long angry at Psi-Corps for her mother's death, and spent so long avoiding telepaths and blaming them. Somehow the notion they could be hurt by something like a thought had never crossed her mind. And Talia was so weak… "I'm not sure." Weak, barely conscious. Would that make it worse, or would it somehow turn off Talia's abilities all together? That cold, hadn't she read that anything unnecessary shut down to survive? And they had to do something. "If we just stay calm…."

Garibaldi nodded as he moved the covers a bit, and slid into bed next to Talia, wrapping his arms around her, despite the almost painful cold while Susan did the same on her other side.

"Michael? Susan?" Talia's eyes flickered fully open. She couldn't see them, but there was something in her head, a light buzzing warmth slowly slipping over her.

"Shussshhh. It's okay. We're right here."

"Shussshhh. You're going to be fine. We're right here, and you're going to be fine." Susan added.

"Warm." Talia murmured. The buzzing in her head was warm and she welcomed it, pulling it around her with a soft little sigh. "So warm." And then a little shiver washed over her body.

"We're going to get you warm. You're going to be fine." Garibaldi smiled as he felt the light shivers. They were going to be able to fix this. Talia was going to be fine. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and wasn't surprised to see Susan doing the same. She was going to be fine.


	6. Chapter 6

Susan blinked her eyes open, not believing she had fallen asleep, and not only had fallen asleep but had slept without the nightmare that had haunted her for the last few days, Talia dead on the floor and then her body morphing into that of her mother. Talia, her mother, all gone because of….

Then what had happened after the funeral, right before they were about to turn Talia over to the Mimbari to be cremated, came rushing back. Talia waking up in that coffin and…. A dream, she had to have dreamed the entire thing. She had probably dreamed the funeral too, they probably had that still to go, but she risked turning her head slightly. A dream, but she could feel something, someone, snuggled against her, and then there was a curtain of blonde hair and Mike looking up from the other side of the bed, the goofiest grin she had ever seen on his face, and then somehow the two of them were hugging each other hard, with Talia caught in between them, warm and undeniably, miraculously alive.

"I thought I had dreamed the whole thing." Susan said when they let go of each other. She moved a bit, propping herself with one elbow so she could look at Talia while she talked. Pale, still way too pale, but her breathing was steady and miracle of miracles, she was warm again. More of what was apparently the night before came back to her, both of them holding Talia, feeling her shaking in their arms, the shivering that she didn't seem to feel, but that was almost painful for them.

"Me too, and then I thought I was going to have a heart attack this morning when woke up and realized that I was in bed with two women." He reached out and gently ran a finger down Talia's cheek as he talked. A miracle, a complete and utter miracle. Four days. Cold storage for four days and then minutes away from cremation and…. And it had been their Talia who had came back. There was no trace of the Psi-Corps monster in her eyes when she had woke up. He didn't know how, but they had somehow got a miracle. He grinned as he saw Susan actually smile and then snuggle up against Talia. Snuggling with a telepath. That was something he had never thought to see Susan do, although Talia was eminently snuggle-able, even as injured as she was. He laid down again, and wrapped his own arms around Talia, snuggling into her other side. "Any idea…."

"We can't tell John or Stephen. The more people who know with Bester here…." Susan told him.

"I figured that. Bester already thinks that what happened to Talia's suspicious. No way he's not going to try getting into Stephen's head to figure out what happened." As he talked, Garibaldi pressed his fingers to Talia's throat. Pulse was strong, a little faster than he thought it ought to be but with the bloodloss, that probably wasn't surprising. But she was warm, her skin soft and so gently warm beneath his fingertips, her chest moving slowly with steady, easy breathing. He was agnostic, but seeing that, feeling that, he felt almost like running to a church. They had somehow got a miracle.

"What did happen?" Susan asked. "She was…. When I took off the gloves, her fingers…." She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering the feel of Talia's stiff, cold hands, and then hugged Talia tighter, needing to feel that she was there, warm and soft and alive. "A coma maybe?" And that thing Psi-Corps put in her head hadn't been fully active for long. If something had happened, and Talia had ended up comatose, maybe it wasn't strong enough to hang on. Maybe it had just slipped away, leaving their Talia behind. That didn't exactly explain why Stephen hadn't noticed something, or how Talia had lasted four days in cold storage but…. Four days. Four days, and if Talia had just been unconscious and they hadn't helped her….

"I don't know. The way she woke up, I don't think comas work like that, at least not without strange healing devices being involved." Garibaldi said after a moment. A coma was the logical explanation, even if the two of them would feel as guilty as anything for leaving Talia without medical attention for so long, but it just didn't fit. "I watched her for almost an hour before you came in. She wasn't breathing, I didn't see a twitch. I kissed her, right before she woke up. She wasn't breathing. I don't know how it's possible, but she wasn't breathing, and then she was just back. And the blood…."

"I know. I know. But…. Tell me again where you got that apple. There's got to be an explanation for this."

"I went downbelow. I had heard there were things there, undetectable things." He told her, even though the thought of what he had been willing to do almost killed him. "This man popped up almost out of nowhere. He said his name was Mister Gold." Michael paused for a moment, thinking about it, trying to see if he could recall something that might have slipped his mind, something that might give them a clue what really happened to Talia. "Bester. He said he knew Bester. He said that if Talia found peace it would make Bester unhappy. He said the apples normally came with a price, but then he gave me one for free."

"Someone with a grudge against Bester. Well, that narrows things down to pretty much the universe." Susan muttered.

"Tell me about it. I've already got the report written up for his untimely demise. I'm going with either a terrible accident or suicide, depending on which one is easiest enough to fake. Or a mysterious disappearance. That would work too. I am not paid enough to investigate when he gets himself murdered." Garibaldi muttered. There were probably things that they ought to be doing, he knew, but for the moment all that he wanted to do was stay right there, with Talia snuggled safely between the two of them. He reached out and gently stroked her hair, ran his fingers through it, tangling the strands around his fingers. He smiled slightly at the soft, silky feel, the faint warmth as his fingers brushed her head. At this point, he didn't really care entirely how it had happened. They had Talia back safely, and they were going to keep her that way.

Just then there was a light twitch, and then a moan, as Talia's eyelids suddenly popped open.

"Talia?" Susan called her name, not exactly sure of what to do. She wanted to hug her, to hug her and let her know she was safe, and that they were going to take care of her, even though they had done a spectacularly bad job of it so far, but she was a bit afraid to touch her too much, in case Garibaldi was right, and that too intense of a contact would overwhelm Talia. "Talia?"

"It's okay. You're safe here. You're going to be fine. Talia?" Her eyes were wide, and the look in them was painful. Oh, Bester was a dead man for this. He already had the reports written up. He just had to slap a date on them, and Bester was dead.

She felt everything. The numbness that should have terrified her was gone, and she felt everything. Fire ran through her shoulder and in waves down her arm, and it was all Talia could do to catch her breath. She gasped, a light moan slipping out as the bed moved slightly beneath her, jarring her shoulder, sending a stabbing pain rushing through her entire body. Light danced in front of her eyes, and she welcomed the wave of dizziness. She didn't know what had happened, but all she wanted was to slip back into unconsciousness, and the blissful, peaceful warmth again.

"Her shoulder." Susan and Garibaldi exchanged a look as it hit them what had to be wrong.

"Right. I think I have something. Give me a minute, okay?" He eased out of the bed, although the movement still caused Talia to gasp and pale in response to the pain. "I've got something, I'm sure. Just a minute and we'll have you fixed again." Bathroom for the bottle of pills that he had thankfully skipped finishing, and then the kitchen for a glass and juice.

"Okay. Talia?" He didn't think he had ever moved that fast, even when under enemy fire. He didn't risk sitting on the bed, just knelt on the floor and pressed one of the pills to her lips. "Try to swallow for me, okay? You'll feel better in a few minutes, I promise."

Talia didn't know what the pill was, but she swallowed anyway, the promise of potential pain relief making her willing to risk anything, even poison. Tears pricked her eyes and she let out another low moan as Garibaldi coaxed some cool liquid down her throat. If she could just pass out, if the pain would just go away….

"It's okay. Just hold on, okay? Just a few minutes and you'll feel better, I promise." Susan whispered as she held Talia tight against her, shooting a look at Garibaldi, demanding with her eyes to know how fast those pills worked.

"They're fast. Really fast. Just a couple of minutes and you'll be fine." he said as he slid in on Talia's other side and wrapped his arms around her too. If nothing else, they had to keep her from moving and possibly restarting the bleeding until the meds could kick in.

It felt like forever before the tension in Talia's body eased, and she went limp in their arms, her breathing easing as she slipped into unconsciousness.

"What were those?" Susan asked when she could speak without tears overcoming her. Talia, the amount of pain she had been in, someone was going to pay for what happened to her.

"Stephen gave them to me after I got shot. I didn't like how they knocked me out so I didn't bother finishing them."

"Do they set the dosage for stuff like that by body weight?" They would be lucky if Talia woke up before next week if so after taking something Garibaldi said knocked him out. But that wasn't what they needed to worry about now. "Her shoulder." Was the pain just from the wound or what if infection was already starting. "If there's infection…." A wound that deep and located where it was, if infection set in, it could kill within hours, Susan was afraid. Talia needed a doctor, she needed real care, but the more people who knew….

"Antibiotics. I might know something." Garibaldi thought for a moment before pulling himself up. "Just take care of her. I'll be back as soon as I can."


	7. Chapter 7

How in the world were they going to fix this? That was all that Susan could think about as she went back into the bedroom after securing the door behind Garibaldi. Talia was pale, so pale, lost in a drugged slumber, the only sign of life her breathing faintly stirring the blankets she was wrapped in. How in the world were they going to fix this?

"It's going to be alright. Mister Garibaldi's gone to get something to make you feel better." Susan forced her panic and fear away as she sat down on the bed. She moved the makeshift bandages a bit, carefully checking the wound. A bit of bleeding, but no signs of infection yet. But that could change so quickly, could…. No, she firmly forced that thought away. It didn't seem like Talia was able to read them at the moment, but she wasn't going to take any chances, on her abilities suddenly turning on, and picking up anything that could frighten her. "I'm not sure what Mike thinks he's going to find, but he seemed sure that he could find something that would help." She really wished she knew what Garibaldi was going to do. Talia needed a doctor but with Bester, she didn't know how they could get one. Stephen was out, thanks to the psi-cop's presence. Was there someone else, someone Downbelow with medical training that Garibaldi might know about, though? There had to be something. A doctor, proper attention, this could be fixed. She wouldn't let herself believe that this couldn't be fixed. They had been so close to losing Talia only for her to somehow miraculously come back to them. Surely that was a sign that the universe was cutting them a break for a change. Get help for her, and Talia had to be okay.

There was a light moan, that honestly Susan wasn't sure if she heard with her ears or her mind. "Talia?" And then, even though it went against everything she had been told by her mother, Susan reached out, mentally whispering Talia's name too. "It's okay." She whispered/thought not sure if talking or thinking would be best. "You're going to be fine. I'm right here and Mike's going to be back in a little while with something to help you feel better. Just rest. You're going to be fine."

"Mama?" a faint mental whisper, the sound a little lost girl, and the one word that ripped Susan's heart to shreds. 

Tears stung her eyes as she reached out and wrapped her arms around Talia. "We're going to get your mother out here to see you as soon as we can." And she didn't know how they would do it, but somehow they were going to do it. "You just have to get better. Talia, you have so many people who love you, and all we want is for you to get well. You have to do that for us, alright? Just rest, and let us take care of you, and get well."

She laid down beside Talia and snuggled her up, the only thing she could think of doing at the moment. "Psi-Corps probably isn't much for fairy tales." Susan said as she caught sight of one of the books that had popped up for Mike on the floor by the bed. "But I'll bet your mother read them to you, didn't she?" She reached down and picked up the book, then flipped it open. "Would you like me to read you something while we're waiting for Mister Garibaldi to get back? I don't know what's taking him so long." She shot a look towards the door even though it hadn't been ten minutes yet. No, don't think about that. The book, focus on the book. She opened it, and slowly started to read. "Once upon a time, there was a queen who longed for a daughter."

*******

"Mister Garibaldi!" Just perfect. Londo. Garibaldi had ducked into the bar just in time to dodge Bester, and who did he run into but Londo and Vir, and was that G'kar and Na'Toth sitting at one of the tables as well? He didn't have time to end up in the middle of a riot.

"Mister Garibaldi, please, sit." And before he could do anything, Londo had him at a table. "I suppose you're still drinking that horrible water, then? A wonderful funeral, Miss Winter's, yes? A bit solemn, of course, but what can one expect from the Mimbari? Still, very fitting indeed."

"Even with Mister Bester's unwelcome presence, it was an appropriate tribute." G'Kar added, not wanting Londo to take over the conversation. "And where is Commander Ivanova? The two of you left rather abruptly to…." No, probably better not to mention the cremation. Humans seemed to be rather more sensitive about the actual disposal of bodies than Narns were.

"She's wanting to sit shiva for Talia. I just had to pick something up first." He really didn't need to be stuck in a conversation with the ambassadors at the moment. He had to figure out how to get past Bester, and then his own security force.

"Mister Garibaldi, I was wondering." Vir stammered. "Did they ever decide exactly what happened to Miss Winters? I mean, why she…." And then he paled and ducked his head as it hit him that now might not be the best time to ask that question.

What story had they decided to go with? Garibaldi decided to stick with what they had told Bester. "Aneurysm is what Stephen said it was."

"That's bleeding in the brain, isn't it?" Vir asked, anxiously.

"Basically." Why was Vir asking about Talia's death?

"Vir, really, I have told you…." Londo tried to stop him but his aide continued.

"What caused it?"

"We don't really know. It's hard to figure out exactly, I guess. Why?" And why did Vir look like he was about to pass out?

"Could hitting her head on a door frame cause it?" Vir asked.

"What?"

"Because that's what happened. It was those two businessmen who got in a fight in the middle of the Zocalo. The old ones." Vir added after it occurred to him how many businessmen tended to get in fights in the middle of the Zocalo. "Londo sent me down to check with Miss Winters about a meeting she was supposed to be helping with, and I guess that she had been dealing with them, because they were just coming out when I got down there, and then one of them lunged at the other, and Miss Winters was kind of in the middle. She hit her head on the door frame. I asked if she should go to see Doctor Franklin. I thought that maybe she should. But she said it didn't even hurt." He looked up for a moment, guilt in his eyes, before dropping his glaze to his drink. "She said it didn't hurt, but then…. Could that have caused it?" He should have said something, should have found Mister Garibaldi or Commander Ivanova and told them what happened. Maybe if Miss Winters had gotten to a doctor in time…. Why had he listened instead of helping?

Well, that wasn't what he had expected. "Vir…." What could he say that would fix it, though? About the only thing that would take away the young Centauri's guilt was the truth, and that wasn't going to happen. "What happened with Talia, she was probably born with something wrong. Things happen. It wasn't your fault." From the expression on Vir's face, he wasn't buying that, though, and Garibaldi couldn't think of anything else to try, not with Bester lurking outside, and the urgent need to get back to Talia and Susan.

"I see Mister Bester's still on the station." G'Kar said. "I know that Delenn filed an official complaint about his behavior at the funeral. I'm surprised the captain hasn't evicted him by now."

"Sheridan's sort of caught on evicting him at the moment." Evicting Bester without giving him a chance to snoop just a bit would make him even more suspicious of what happened to Talia, but still, the longer he was here, the greater the risk he would find out what had really happened. Psi-Corps would probably have Talia dissected to find out how the Control personality had been removed if they got their hands on her.

"He seems to be looking for something, I believe." Londo said after looking up.

"Probably me or the Commander."

"And you don't want to talk with him, I assume." G'Kar said.

"I want to throw him out an airlock. Barring that, not talking to him would be great. Do you think the two of you…."

Before Garibaldi could finish his thought, there was a splat, and some sort of fruity goo was covering Na'Toth. And there was Vir, in the doorway, fruit in hand, waving.

"Vir!" Londo shouted as Na'Toth lunged after him. He turned to G'Kar with a scowl. "If your aide breaks him, she is replacing him. I hope she knows something about mixed drinks."

"Go. I believe Mister Cotto is much more clever than I had thought." G'Kar motioned to Garibaldi as he looked out the door. Vir had ducked behind Bester just as Na'Toth had charged, and the telepath quickly learned that there was in fact something more frightening on the station that Commander Ivanova. "But just in case…."

Garibaldi barely dodged in time as G'Kar picked up Londo and tossed him out the door, right onto Bester. He grinned slightly, thinking of the potential for broken bones as he dodged out of the way. The Centauri/Narn playacting was quickly shaping up into a riot. Perfect time for a little visit to security.

Not a soul in sight. He ducked in and quickly opened the locked cabinet holding contraband items confiscated from arriving passengers, and stupid smugglers, which made up most of their class of smugglers. Bottles, bags, he dumped them all into a box, not bothering to sort them. Susan could help him with that later. He just cleared out the cabinet. No one but him ever went in there anyway. They would never know. A little trip to riffle through lost luggage, and he could get back home to get Talia fixed up.


	8. Chapter 8

"What took you so long?" Susan got up from the bed as soon as she heard Garibaldi come in, and hurried in to see what he had gone out for. "Why do you have luggage?"

"Paid a little visit to lost luggage and security." Garibaldi dropped the box full of contraband items onto the couch, and shrugged the suitcase he had looped around his shoulder onto the floor. "How is she?"

"Sleeping." Besides the one heartbreaking moment when Talia called for her mother, she hadn't stirred once, probably a good thing even though seeing her that still and hurt was painful. "What are these?" She asked as she looked in the book and pulled out several bags and bottles filled with pills.

"Antibiotics." Garibaldi told her as he dug around in the box as well. He was sure he had dropped that sheet Stephen gave him, giving names for the various drugs, in there somewhere.

"Antibiotics? Where did you get a box full of…."

"There's one species, I keep forgetting which one, that they're like narcotics for. I also have narcotics." Garibaldi told her as he looked up, smiling with the list in hand.

"You…. Where did you get all of this?"

"People keep smuggling the stuff in, and security keeps finding it and confiscating it. I've been giving what we find to Stephen. I'm pretty sure he's using it in that free clinic of his that we're not supposed to know about, but the last few weeks, I kept getting distracted and forgetting to drop the stuff off. Which is a good thing, as it turns out."

"We aren't doctors." Susan said slowly, realizing what Michael was thinking. "We can't just give Talia something, with no idea what it could do."

"Stephen wrote out the names of the drugs. Surely we can figure something out from that. What other choice do we have. As long as Bester's here…."

"I know. I know. He's still lurking? I was hoping that if Delenn complained…."

"She has, but apparently it wasn't enough to get him thrown off the station yet. Vir, Na'Toth, G'Kar and Londo ended up distracting him so that I could make it to security." Garibaldi told her. "You won't believe this, but Vir's blaming himself for what happened to Talia."

"What? How could he…."

"Those two businessmen that I told you about, apparently they did start a fight in that meeting they had with Talia, and she ended up bumping her head on the door frame. Vir saw it, and he's got it into his head that it somehow caused the aneurysm that Stephen's saying killed her."

"They pushed her? And are these two still on the station?" Shoving a few senior citizens out an airlock. She could make it look accidental.

"Hopefully they're halfway back to Earth. Either that or in a lock-up someplace far from us, which wouldn't surprise me with how they were acting. Those two were like Londo and G'Kar would be if they were human. We've got to screen our visitors more." Garibaldi looked down at the sheet with the information on the medicines for a moment before looking at Susan again. "We don't have another choice that I can see. If that shoulder gets infected…."

"I know. I know." An infection could kill Talia but then if they gave her the wrong thing…. "There isn't anyone else? I know we can't get Stephen, but surely…."

"There isn't anyone I would trust. I wish there was." He sorted through the various bottles and bags as he talked, picking out a few pill selections he thought looked familiar. "Bester isn't going to let this go. He'll poke in the heads of whoever he can find, trying to figure out what happened to Talia, and the medical staff are prime targets. There's no way we can bring them in, and anyone else with medical training, I just don't trust them to keep their mouths shut."

"So Talia just has us." It was probably a good thing that Talia's abilities seemed to be out, if she had only the two of them to depend on. She would undoubtedly have a panic attack at the thought. Susan looked through the pills that Garibaldi had picked out, and after a moment, picked up one of the bottles. "I think I recognize this one. What does what Stephen gave you say about it?"

"It's strong. Strong's what we need, don't you think?" Garibaldi said after looking at the sheet.

I think so." Was strong good or could too strong of an antibiotic cause it's own problems? They really needed a doctor but thanks to Bester, that wasn't happening any time soon.

"Okay. Let me see if I can find something to feed her, and then we can try to get a pill down." What did he have to fix foodwise? Or what did he have to fix that they could coax down a heavily sedated telepath, that was the real question.

Susan's link beeped before she could head back to the bedroom. "Ivanova." She called as she activated it.

"Susan, are you in Mister Garibaldi's quarters?" John asked.

"I told you I was going to be. Why?"

"Good. Good. And Mister Garibaldi's there too?"

"Right in front of me. Why?"

"Good. Apparently Londo, G'Kar and their assistants got into some sort of fight a little while ago, and Bester got in the middle of it. I tried to tell him that getting between a Narn and a Centauri they want to throttle isn't a good idea, that a few fractured ribs and a concussion really is getting off lightly, but he seems to think it's all part of some sort of conspiracy against him and his finding out what really happened to Miss Winters."

"Maybe Stephen needs to take a closer look at his head. I think he might have more than a concussion going on. You know, I've heard lobotomies can help a lot with head injuries."

"We'll keep that in mind. The two of you just stay where you are, and let us handle Bester, alright? I'll let you know as soon as anything changes."

"A fight with the Centauri and the Narn?" Susan looked at Garibaldi as soon as the link closed.

"Vir through some sort of fruit at Na'Toth. And then dodged behind Bester just as she lunged for him. I didn't know he had it in him." Garibaldi said with a chuckle as he finished filling a bowl with broth that he had found in a cabinet. Not as good as fresh and home-made, but it was there, with no real work involved, which was what they needed at the moment, something fast and easy. He could always cook something better later, when Talia wasn't sedated and might actually enjoy it. "You think she'll be able to wake up enough to swallow?"

"Hopefully." Susan said as they went into the bedroom and she carefully sat on the bed. "Talia?" she called, softly. "Hey, we have something for you to eat. Think you can wake up for just a little while?"

There was a flutter of her eyelids, and a weak whimper, as the movement of the bed jarred her shoulder.

"That's fine. That shoulder, we don't want her too awake. She can probably swallow, don't you think?" Garibaldi asked Susan.

"Hopefully. Talia?" Susan eased behind her, and risked propping her up a bit, as Garibaldi spooned some of the broth into her mouth. "That's it. Just swallow, okay? We're right here, and you're going to be fine, I promise."

They got the broth into her somehow, although Susan couldn't begin to imagine how, with Talia semi-conscious at best, followed by the antibiotics, before letting her drift back into her drugged slumber.

"I have some clothes. I'm not sure what might fit. There really wasn't a lot of time to go through things in lost luggage, but there has to be something more comfortable than that for her to sleep in." Garibaldi said as soon as they had Talia tucked in once more.

"You raided lost luggage for clothes? I better not find out that's where you got my Hannakah present last year." She laughed lightly, and then the two went to sort things out. Somehow they were going to make this work.


	9. Chapter 9

"Does it look like her color's a little better?" Susan looked up for a minute, before turning her eyes onto Talia again, looking carefully for any indication of improvement. They had found a pair of blue silk pajamas, a bit too big for the fragile telepath, but still comfortable looking, that they had changed her into along with changing the makeshift bandages on her shoulder. Talia had slept through the entire thing, not even reacting to the jarring of her injured shoulder, but as Susan looked at her, it seemed like there might be a bit of color to her face, that wasn't from the remnants of the lipstick and light makeup she hadn't trusted anyone else to handle applying before the funeral. It wasn't much, but her face wasn't as pale and drawn and the skin didn't seem as translucent, anyway. She looked up at Garibaldi, wanting conformation he was seeing the same thing.

"Getting fluids and some food probably helped a little." He said with a nod. Maybe it was their imagination, he knew, but it did seem like there might be a tiny bit of improvement. Even if it was tiny, they would take it, would take any sign they were doing the right things for Talia.

"Food. You know, I forgot to leave breakfast for her." Susan winced slightly. "That doesn't count as abuse of a guest, does it? Inviting them to stay with you and then taking off and leaving them to starve? It's probably a good thing we're hiding out here. My cupboards are seriously bare." She reached out, and gently stroked Talia's forehead, brushing her hair back, thoughts of that, and every other action that might have possibly been considered hostile towards Talia running wild through her mind.

"I don't think that leaving your houseguest without food is a criminal charge." Garibaldi chuckled, and then picked up the book Susan had been reading to Talia. "What's this doing in here?"

"I was reading it to her. She called for her mother." Susan whispered, tears pricking her eyes as she recalled hearing Talia's voice, so lost. "I promised her…. You talked to her mother. What was she like? What's her name?"

"Julia, Julia Walker. They changed Talia's last name when they took her. Good thing they didn't change her first name too or I'm not sure how I would have tracked her mother down, at least not in time. She was…. I was calling to tell her she lost her child but…." Garibaldi shook his head as he remembered that call. He had had to break bad news to people before, had told other parents about the loss of a child, but that talk with Talia's mother had been his worst nightmare. "They don't tell the normal families if anything happens to their kids, so in a way she was just glad to know but…. She never gave up on her. She always hoped that Talia would come home some day and then here I called and took away from her."

"You talked to her for awhile?" Susan didn't think she had felt like crying so much in years, first from seeing Talia so hurt and then hearing her calling for her mother, and now thinking about the damage it must have done for Mike to talk to her mom, thinking that he was to blame for Talia's death.

"I think she just needed someone to talk to about Talia. She's part of a support group for parents who lost kids to the Corps, but it isn't like any of them actually knew her. I couldn't just give her the bad news and end the call just like that. She just…. She offered to send pictures, of Talia before the Corps took her. I wasn't sure if you would want to see them, but I told her to send them anyway."

Susan smiled as she sat down on the bed and ran her hand along Talia's forehead. "I'll bet she was an adorable little thing."

"A little princess according to her mother. She even had this little crown that she wore for tea parties." He smiled himself as he sat on Talia's other side, picturing a miniature Talia in a princess crown and dress. It very definitely fit. Then he sobered again as he remembered his talk with her mother. "She knew what Psi-Corps would do, that they would tell Talia that her family didn't want her, that they were afraid of her and what she could do, that her family didn't love her anymore. You know, she talked about how when the Corps first took her, and she was this little, scared girl, they assigned an older telepath to help her. She talked about how she scanned her, and made her feel warm and safe. Want to bet that they did a little memory rearranging too?"

"I wouldn't put it past them. We need to talk to her mother again. There has to be a way to get her out here." Having her mom there, maybe that would be just as good as having the doctor they couldn't get for her. Although how they were going to explain the spectacularly bad job they had done of protecting Talia and why she was tucked into Mister Garibaldi's bed, instead of getting proper treatment down in the Medlab, she didn't know.

"I know. I know." And the thought of letting Talia's mother continue thinking that her daughter was dead, that was beyond cruel, but getting her there, or even calling her to let her know that Talia was okay was going to be a serious problem. He wouldn't even trust the gold channels, that were supposed to be secure. Not with Bester and company involved. There had to be some safe way to contact her, though. It was just a matter of thinking of it. And he didn't think he was going to be doing any good in that department until he got some food. "Want me to make something for us? I know I haven't been able to eat since…." He trailed off, knowing Susan would know what he meant.

"Unless they've added vodka to a food group, me either." Susan told him. Her quarters, every restaurant, they all reminded her of Talia, and what Psi-Corps had taken away. She reached out and stroked her forehead, brushing her fingers lightly over the blonde hair, and found herself smiling as she looked up at Garibaldi, who was grinning right back. "Food would be really, really good right now."

******************

They had fallen asleep again. After eating, they had intended to sit with Talia, but somehow the two of them had ended up on the bed, Talia snuggled between them like the filling in a telepath sandwich. Garibaldi shook his head, checking the time as he tried to figure out what had woke him up. Six hours. They had slept a good six hours. Six hours of peaceful, undisturbed rest. He couldn't remember the last time he had been able to sleep like that. Maybe cuddling with a telepath should count as a sleep aide?

"Is that the door?" Susan asked as she stirred on Talia's other side.

The door. She was right. It was the door chime. The two of them looked at each other in alarm and then down at Talia before scrambling up.

"What's he doing here?" Garibaldi muttered as he pulled up a view of the door and saw Sheridan standing there, waiting for someone to answer.

"He has a dish. I think he's paying a sympathy call." Susan said. "And that isn't from the security camera, is it?"

"No. Put it in to avoid door to door salesmen. What do we do?"

"Are door to door salesmen a problem here?" Susan winced as the door chimed again. Why wasn't John taking the hint and going away?

"They haven't been for me since I put in that camera." Garibaldi looked towards the bedroom as there was a third chime, and then a knock. Talia was still out like a light but….

"He doesn't take a hint easily." If the noise woke Talia up…. "How strong are those pills?"

"When I took them I was out for a good ten hours. That's why there are so many left." Another knock, and then a chime. Maybe he ought to have invested in a do not disturb sign as well as a security camera to dodge unwelcome visitors.

Ten hours. It had been at least seven hours since they gave Talia the meds. She was small, at least in comparison to Garibaldi, though. Surely that meant that she would be hit harder by the drugs. They had time to get John in and out, that is, they would have time if he would stop making so much noise.

The living room was clear, all of the medicines and the clothes raided from lost luggage were safely in the bedroom. The two scurried in, flying around the room, hiding evidence of what they had been up to. They stuffed the towels and the tarp from moving Talia and tending her wound into the closet, before pulling the blankets and covers around Talia and piling pillows on all sides of her, both to keep her still, and to make her look like nothing more than a lump in the bed, in case by some chance Sheridan popped in to the bathroom.

"Talia, you just sleep, okay?" Susan whispered to her as they turned out the lights. "Just sleep, and he'll be gone in a minute." They closed the door, and checked anxiously to make sure that nothing could be seen before Garibaldi answered just as John rang again.

"I was beginning to think the two of you weren't here." He said as the door opened. And if the two of them weren't there, he was beginning to wonder where they would find Mister Bester's corpse. 

"We were praying. Well, I was. He was keeping quiet as anyone who knows what's good for them should do." Susan said. They moved away from the door and motioned for John to come in.

"I brought you something from Fresh Air. I figured that would be faster than trying to cook." He hated visits like this. He had hated them as a kid, when he had paid visits with his parents and sister, and he especially hated them now after his wife's death, and being the recipient of more visits than he wanted to remember. What else could he do but come, though? Susan had been his friend for years, and Mister Garibaldi was getting there quickly. And what had happened to poor Talia, pretty much seeing her murdered in front of them, it would take a long time for him to forget it. "How are the two of you doing?"

"We would be better if Bester was gone. Any chance of that?" Garibaldi asked as John sat on the couch. He was sitting down? This wasn't a wake. Why couldn't he just hand them the food and leave?

"The two of you just leave Bester to me. I'll handle him. You don't need to deal with it right now." John said. He took a deep breath. They weren't going to be happy with what he had to tell them. "He wants Talia's things."

"What?"

"What's he going to do with a bunch of ladies' clothes, unless there are a few things we don't know about Bester?" Garibaldi grumbled.

"DNA. He's trying to find a DNA sample, since he couldn't get Talia's body." Susan said after a moment, looking to John for confirmation.

"That's the only thing I can figure, although he's claiming it's for some sort of outstanding debt to Psi-Corps."

"Outstanding debt? They kidnapped Talia when she was five, and they're wanting her to keep paying for her own abduction twenty-something years later? I think I could make extortion charges stick for that."

"Tell me you didn't let him have her things." Susan said.

"I couldn't think of a reason to deny it, but I had Doctor Franklin delay him in the Medlab. I was going to have Delenn store everything somewhere until the two of you had a chance to go through it, and maybe send it back to Talia's mother. When we went down to her quarters, though, it had been cleared out. Did either of you…."

Garibaldi shook his head and winced. "Lurkers. It's happened a couple of times before, usually in Brown sector. They hear about someone dying, get in and clear things out. I'll tell Zack to keep an eye out but…." Why hadn't he thought to have Talia's things packed up before something could happen? Oh, right, he was too busy debating taking a dip in a bottle of booze.

"Lurkers. That makes sense. It won't make Mister Bester happy, but it makes sense."

"Zack can show him the reports on the other break-ins if he tries to say anything. It's happened before. I thought the security lock would keep them out, but Talia did have some nice things." Garibaldi softly swore. When Talia woke up and was halfway coherent, they were going to have a very unhappy telepath on their hands.

"I'll deal with Bester. The two of you just stay here and let me handle them." Sheridan ordered again. "I know both of you were close to Miss Winters. You don't need to deal with what Bester's trying to pull right now."

If John had any idea of how close they had been to Talia just a few minutes before. Susan was sure that her hair was flat on one side, but hopefully he wouldn't notice, or wouldn't have the nerve to ask questions about it if he did. Garibaldi had no clue how lucky he was that thanks to that little incident, the hair he had to end up smashed was limited. Now if they could just get John out of here. Didn't he notice calls on people sitting shiva were supposed to be brief? Susan felt a cold chill wash over her. Was that a faint whimper she heard? She closed her eyes, sending up a silent prayer. Just let Talia sleep for a bit longer, please, just for a bit longer until they could get John out of there.

How long was Sheridan going to stay? Garibaldi looked over at Susan, and then risked a glance at the bedroom door. He could hear the faint whimpers too, but thankfully it seemed like Sheridan couldn't yet. But if Talia woke up fully….

If anyone ever heard about this, it would be a disaster, and she could probably kiss any hopes of career advancement goodbye, but Talia…. Hurt, scared or something, what was a little disaster and potential humiliation if it would help her? Susan closed her eyes, going through memories. Her mother just triggered anger at Psi-Corps, but her brother, her father, Talia so still in that coffin, Talia hurt and shaking in their arms, knowing that they couldn't get her the proper help she needed…. She could feel tears starting to prick her eyes and she let them come. She let herself sob for everyone she had lost, everyone she had seen hurt, everything. And then she somehow was on her feet, and disappeared through the bedroom door, shutting it firmly behind her, and falling onto the bed next to Talia, reaching out and pulling the telepath into her arms. And suddenly the tears were replaced with laughter that she almost choked trying to muffle.

"Hey." The door came open a few minutes later and Garibaldi came in, the sound of restrained laughter in his voice as well. "Captain Sheridan offered to have Stephen pay a house call."

"Seeing as Stephen can't pay the kind of house call we really need, I don't think that will work so well. He bought it?"

"I've seen pickpockets that I've caught red handed move slower." He sat down on the bed, and reached out to gently stroke Talia's cheek.

"It was a nightmare, I think. As soon as I was in here, she settled down." Susan told him. She looked up and then the pair were both grinning at what they had done. They had fooled their commanding officer, they had managed to pull the first bluff off. They would be able to pull the rest off as well. No one was going to hurt Talia or take her away from them. Garibaldi laid down again on Talia's other side, and the two of them snuggled her tight. This was going to be fine.

"So, should we flip to decide who gets to tell Talia all of her clothes are gone and she's going to be living with what we can find in lost luggage for the foreseeable future?" Susan asked with a laugh, and then Michael was laughing too. This was going to be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

"John." Delenn said as she opened the door with a sad smile, and waved for Sheridan to come in. "How were Commander Ivanova and Mister Garibaldi?" From the troubled expression on his face, she could tell whatever it was was bad. Did he know about the situation with Miss Winters's body? No, but if he knew about that, surely he would have said something the moment he stepped through the door. For humans, anyway, keeping the dead body of a loved one in your living space would be bizarre to say the least.

"They're…." John stopped at a loss for words as Delenn led him to a seat and then settled down beside him. He shook his head, not sure how to explain the situation. "I think they're about to make a huge mistake, if they haven't already."

"A mistake?" 

"I don't know. They're both upset. You know, I never thought Susan would let a telepath get so close. I told you she pushed one out a third story window once, right?"

"I believe I've heard the story. What happened?" If Sheridan hadn't found out that Talia's body hadn't been cremated, and was missing, what could have upset him so?

John lowered his head for a moment. "They were both upset, blaming Bester, of course. If he manages to make it off this station in something besides a coffin, a swear it's going to be a miracle. Susan…. I've never seen her like that. We were talking and she was fine, and then she just broke down and ran out of the room sobbing." He shook his head. He had never seen Susan like that before. Grief, he was trying to tell himself it was just grief. With all that she had lost, she was more than overdue for a breakdown. But he couldn't help but have a bad feeling about the entire situation. "I offered to have Stephen pay a visit off the books. I'm sure he would be more than willing to give her something and keep it confidential. Mister Garibaldi said he would handle it, but I have half a mind to send Stephen down there anyway." The more he thought about seeing Susan like that, the more he thought he really needed to make a call to the doctor. Susan had been through so much. How could he let her suffer more if there was something Stephen could do to help her through things but at the same time, he knew she would hate anyone seeing her that vulnerable. Maybe he ought to call the doctor for Mister Garibaldi instead? He was probably going to need medical attention sooner or later, especially if what he suspected was true.

"Mister Garibaldi has more depth than most people can see." Delenn said after a moment's thought. "If Commander Ivanova is so grief-stricken, maybe the best thing is to leave her with the one person on the station who might be able to understand and share her pain."

"I know but…." He closed his eyes for a moment, not sure he should say what he suspected, but needing to tell someone. "I think they slept together."

"You mean…." Of all the things that John could have said, that was not what Delenn had expected to hear.

"Maybe I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong. It took forever for them to come to the door, and it looked like both of them had been sleeping in their clothes." Sleeping in their clothes. Did it mean they hadn't gone all the way, yet? Please don't let things have gotten that far. If they had…. "I hope I'm wrong. I just know it's so easy, when you're hurting so bad, and it feels like part of you is dead to grab on to something that might make you feel alive."

"You…." It seemed that what Delenn was hearing was so unexpected, she couldn't even think of a full sentence. a completely foreign experience for her.

"With my wife." He said with a nod even though part of him hated to admit it. "There were women who approached me right after it happened, and even though nothing happened, afterwards…. I hated myself for even thinking about it, hated them for offering, it was a mess." He closed his eyes again as he spoke. "Susan, Mister Garibaldi, they saw Talia murdered right in front of them. The funeral, what Bester did, having him loose on the station…. They're vulnerable, and they're friends, and the easiest thing in the world would be for them to turn to each other, but they'll end up hurting each other in the end, and I don't know what in the world I can do to stop it."

Delenn was quiet, thinking, trying to find the words that might give even slight comfort.

"Miss Winters' death was tragic." She finally said.

Sheridan nodded. "I can't stop thinking about it, how she just came in and the expression on her face after Lyta sent that password." He closed his eyes, but it didn't block out the memory. "Fast, it was so fast, but she had to know she was dying." And that brought up an entirely new worry that hadn't hit him before now. Susan was a latent. She'd basically said she couldn't do anything with it, could maybe block a scan, he wanted to believe that was the extent of it, but Talia dying in front of her, being murdered, what if somehow Susan had been able to feel that? As fast as it was, even for a few seconds, Talia had to have known what was happening, she had to have known and realized there was nothing they could do to help her. She had to have been terrified. Had Susan felt that? If she had…. He really needed to talk to Stephen, but he didn't know how he could, without betraying Susan's trust.

"In a way, her life was largely tragic. Psi-Corps took her from her family as a child, they manipulated her at every turn, they denied her true love, they tampered with her mind and placed something inside of her that would destroy her in the worst way possible. Maybe, even if it is a mistake in the long run, if Mister Garibaldi and Commander Ivanova are together now, it is a way of reclaiming some of the happiness that Miss Winters was denied." To another Mimbari, perhaps it would make more sense, but she hoped John would understand a bit.

"A way of sticking it to Bester and Psi-Corps." Sheridan let out a low laugh after a moment's thought as he imagined how the Psi-cop would react to the notion of Susan and Mister Garibaldi in bed together, instead of being destroyed with grief for Talia the way Bester undoubtedly wanted. "So you think…. I just don't want them to do something they'll regret."

"I could talk to them tomorrow if you would like." Delenn offered. "Perhaps they just need a bit more time to grieve in private before someone else intrudes."

"Maybe." He was quiet for a moment, thinking about what Delenn had said. He wanted to believe this would be okay, wanted to believe that his friends weren't about to make the mistake of their lives. "You think…."

"I think the two of them are very strong, and time heals many things, as I think the human saying goes. I think we need to give them that time."

Lennier stepped in as soon as Sheridan left almost half an hour later. "Should we have told him about the issue with Miss Winters' body?"

"No, he has enough to worry about. We will go and talk to the Commander and Mister Garibaldi ourselves tomorrow." Delenn told him. John suspected that Mister Garibaldi and Commander Ivanova were sleeping together. If he learned that Talia's body was missing, and the only possible place it could be was in the bedroom…. John was ready to call Doctor Franklin in when he suspected the two were sleeping with each other. If he knew a dead body had been added to the mix…. "Tomorrow we will talk to them." As grieved as they were, they had to let Miss Winters go.


	11. Chapter 11

"Did you find anything?" Garibaldi asked as soon as Susan came in the door, bags in hand.

"That I did a little too good of a job cleaning." Susan had been halfway hopeful that she would have missed something of Talia's when she went through her quarters in the aftermath of the Control disaster, had been hopeful enough to risk sneaking down to her quarters to search, but there wasn't a thing. The best she could do was to gather some underclothes she thought might work, along with a couple of outfits, toiletries, and her nightclothes so she wouldn't have to sleep in her funeral attire again.

"It gets worse." Garibaldi said with a grimace. "I did some checking while you were out, and pulled up Talia's credit account. I thought maybe I could at least get the money transferred to her mother. Psi-Corps has already put a hold on it."

"A…." Susan dropped down on the couch, glad they weren't trying to have this conversation in the bedroom where Talia might pick it up. "Bester's stealing Talia's money? How is he managing to do that? Can he be arrested for that?"

"Unfortunately not." And that had been a kick in the teeth, after the lovely image of Bester being carted away had danced through his mind. "It's the whole "The Corps is Mother, The Corps is Father" thing. A whole lot of telepaths leave all their property to the Corps and Bester somehow had a will from Talia doing the same thing."

"She left everything to them?" Susan looked at Garibaldi with obvious confusion. "She didn't trust them. I know she didn't trust them. Why would…."

"It was old, from before she came to the station. It mentioned tokens for Taro Isogi and Jason Ironheart, who are dead and ascended beyond the need for money, so it's got to be at least that old."

"But they can still use it?"

"Unfortunately, yes, unless something newer shows up, and if there was something newer, I have a bad feeling it either vanished with all of Talia's things, or it's with someone who's afraid to stand up to Psi-Corps and turn it in."

"So Talia's basically left with a penny after almost thirty years as literally her only possession." Susan stood and moved to the bedroom door, looking in and barely holding back tears. "What in the world is she going to do when she recovers?" And there was no way that she wasn't going to believe that Talia would recover, but when she did…. No money, the clothes on her back weren't even hers, no place to live or job. "You know," she said as she felt Garibaldi joining her in watching Talia sleeping. "I wished she wasn't Psi-Corps, but somehow it never occurred to me to think about what she would do if she wasn't. They wouldn't have let her get any non-telepathy related skills, wouldn't you think? What in the world is she going to do?"

"We'll think of something. She'll be okay. You know, the two of you are welcome to stay here. Trying to cook for one, I always end up with leftovers that keep going to waste because things always end up going crazy before I can reheat them. Having three to feed might actually end up saving me on my grocery bill."

Susan nodded, and smiled slightly, forcing the feel of the tears back as they watched Talia. "It's probably cultural heresy, but I could cut out vodka, and avoid Londo like the plague to keep from getting stuck with his bar bills. That would help." Replacing Talia's entire life, that would take awhile, and Susan didn't want to imagine how much money, but surely they could fix this. And Talia would have them and her mother if they could come up with a way to get her out there. That would have to help, wouldn't it? They could fix this.

Before either of them could think anymore about the situation, there was a light moan from the bed.

"Talia?" Susan hurried in with Garibaldi right behind her and dropped down onto the bed. She started to reach out a hand, but then pulled back, afraid. Talia's brow was drawn, her eyes twitching beneath the lids, pain almost radiating from her, pain and fear, and she was afraid a touch might add to that.

"We probably ought to have given her something before now." Garibaldi was kicking himself as he got the bottle of left-over pills and then a glass of water from the bathroom. And maybe they ought to try to get Talia to take another of the antibiotics, too? It probably couldn't hurt.

Talia twitched as Garibaldi carefully eased himself down on the bed on her other side. "Corps is Mother, Corps is Father." she murmured.

Susan and Michael looked at each other in horror, remembering the ranting of the monster that had almost killed their Talia.

"No. That thing wasn't in there. It… Talia?" Garibaldi called her name as she twitched again, shaking her head almost like she could hear them and was agreeing that creature was gone.

"No! No, Abby, no! Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me!" Talia's eyes flew open, and before her friends could react, she jerked back, pressing herself against the head of the bed, curling into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible. "Get out, get out, get out! Mama says no touching like that! Get out, get out, get out! Please get out! Mamamamamamamama!" Pain shot down her shoulder, and she gasped for breath. She could feel rather than see movement on her sides, and she tried to curl in on herself more, tried to make herself so small they couldn't see.

"Talia…" Susan looked at Garibaldi, not sure of what to do. Talia wasn't seeing them, was caught in some sort of memory, but how in the world did they get her out of it? If they touched her….

"Her shoulder." There was blood on her shoulder again, and they had to do something, even if it was the wrong thing. Michael motioned for Susan to try to get hold of Talia while he picked up the pills and water. Trying to sedate her was the only thing that he could think of to do. Whatever was going on with her mentally was going to have to wait until they could repair the physical damage.

"No! Please no!" Talia cringed as Susan wrapped her arms around her and held her tight to keep her from moving. "NO!"

"Talia, it's okay. It's okay! It's Susan and Mike. You're okay!" Talia's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was ready to burst, and tears were running down the telepath's cheeks. "Talia, it's okay! Wherever you think you are, you're not there anymore, I promise. You're here with two people who love you more than anything and who just want to help you. You're safe, you're safe, sweetheart. Whoever hurt you isn't here. We won't let them hurt you again. Just try to take the medicine, alright? It will make you feel better, I promise."

They weren't sure if Talia was any more aware of them than she had been at first, but she let Garibaldi coax the pills, first the pain pill and then another anti-biotic down her, and she didn't try to move again as they examined her shoulder and used more towels and pressure to control the bleeding.

"If that reopens again…." Susan murmured several minutes later when after several blood-soaked towels they had got the bleeding stopped. How much blood could Talia actually lose without her life being in serious danger? "We need to close it somehow."

"I have a needle that might work." Garibaldi said after a moment's thought. "Another thing my aunt sent me. I don't know what she thinks I might be cooking here but it's for sewing up birds."

"Does your aunt think you're going to be cooking things that might try to escape?" Susan asked. Putting stitches into Talia's shoulder, she cringed at the thought, but what else could they do? If she had another nightmare, or flashback, or whatever that was, and restarted the bleeding again…. "Get the needle, and I hope you have thread to go with it."

Cooking twine, and the bottle of alcohol as a disinfectant. Sooner than either of them wanted, they had the necessary equipment together. "Which one of us is going to do this?" Garibaldi asked as he looked up from threading the needle.

Susan looked at the needle like it was a poisonous snake. "I tried to sew once. I was ten. There was much bloodshed, not all of it mine. Please tell me you have some clue how to do this."

"On a bird for cooking, but it couldn't be much different, right?" That was it. Just remember the bird, and don't think about the fact he was going to have to do this to someone he really liked, who was probably semi-conscious. He waited until Susan moved back into position, where she could hold Talia and keep her from moving before picking up the needle. He closed his eyes for a second, before forcing himself to move, pushing the needle into flesh, barely avoiding jerking as Talia gasped in reaction.

"Talia?" Susan called her name. "It's okay. We're just fixing your shoulder for you. I know it hurts, but Mister Garibaldi knows what he's doing, and we'll have it fixed in just a minute. You're going to be okay, I promise." She reached out and stroked her hair, and it was all she could do not to risk at least attempting to make some sort of mental contact, to make sure Talia realized that she was being taken care of, not tortured. But she was very much afraid that might make things worse. "You're going to be okay." She tried words again. "The two of us love you, and we're going to take care of you. You're going to be okay. Talia?"

She felt something, something inside of her head, and when she looked up, she realized Mike could feel it too. "Talia?"

"Susan, Michael." Her eyelids fluttered, but didn't open fully, and her speech was starting to slur as the pain killer took effect, but at least it seemed like Talia was back in the present again.

Susan nodded. "It's just us. You just try to go to sleep again, alright? You're going to be fine, I promise."

"You felt that, didn't you?" Garibaldi asked, as soon as he had the stitches in Talia's shoulder tied off, and bandages over the wound again. He had had Talia in his head before, when she scanned him after he was shot, and somehow he could tell it was her again, even if the touch was entirely different.

Susan nodded. "But she wasn't scanning us."

"More like she was wanting to feel and make sure it was us." He didn't like the thought of a telepath in his head, but that touch and Talia, that was definitely an exception.

"Who was Abby?" Susan wondered as she moved from the bed and went to sort through the clothes from lost luggage, to find a clean outfit to change Talia into.

"I think she was the one I mentioned, the one Talia said who scanned her and made her feel warm and safe when she first came to the Corps. The name sounds right, anyway."

"Abby. How hard do you suppose it would be to track her down?" Susan asked as she turned with another pair or the blue pajamas. Thank goodness whoever had lost their luggage had brought along multiples. "I have plenty of leave time, and I'm thinking of a few little accidents right now."

"We could lure her here and arrange a tour of the station reactors. That might be a perfect idea for Bester too. Or an airlock malfunction. Has Miss Connelly complained about any airlocks lately?" They were going to fix this, first Talia, and then they were going to fix this so whoever hurt her would never be able to touch her again.


End file.
